November 2012

The book finally makes its way back to the place that spawned it: the gritty streets of Winnipeg Canada, where I was not only awarded a grant to work on the writing of the book, but also given an office to write in, as part of Aqua Books' Writer-in-Residence program. I'll be launching the book at the Winnipeg Cinematheque with a 35mm screening of THE BROOD, co-presented by Open City Cinema.

The Auroratone Project, which I curated with Walter Forsberg for POP Montreal 2012, was a film commission that matched up 11 Canadian experimental filmmakers with participating POP Montreal musicians to create an homage to Cecil Stokes' Auroratones - abstract musical films used in mental institutions and army hospitals after WWII as a means of soothing post-traumatic stress disorder. This is our first international screening - playing at The Townhouse Gallery in Cairo!

I will be introducing Carlos Aured's BLUE EYES OF THE BROKEN DOLL (aka HOUSE OF PSYCHOTIC WOMEN!) at PhilaMOCA on November 28th as part of a brief East Coast tour! Event presented collaboratively by Joseph A. Gervasi + PhilaMOCA.

Wide-eyed, blood-splattered or shrieking, the women in horror and exploitation films are almost without boundaries, giving them the freedom to work out neurosis and pain in startling ways. In her new book House of Psychotic Women, Kier-La Janisse examines these characters and relates them to her life experiences. To celebrate the book release we have invited Kier-La to select three films which will screen over two nights.